


The Old and the New

by adritae



Series: Aang Week 2021 [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Aang Week 2021, Air Nomad Genocide (Avatar), Air Nomads (Avatar), All Platonic - Freeform, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: s01e03 The Southern Air Temple, Genocide, Hurt Aang (Avatar), Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, No Romance, Past Violence, Precious Aang, Skeletons, Why do I do this to my boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29711250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adritae/pseuds/adritae
Summary: "All the pieces now shattered and gone, he let the tears come freely, wrapped in the comfort of a new family that wouldn't replace the old, but perhaps could ease the pain."After the Southern Air TempleAangWeek 2021 Day 2: Joy/LaughterDay 5: Air TemplesDay 6: Grief
Relationships: Aang & Air Nomads (Avatar), Aang & Appa (Avatar), Aang & Gyatso (Avatar), Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang & Momo (Avatar), Aang & Sokka (Avatar)
Series: Aang Week 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2175759
Kudos: 11





	The Old and the New

**Author's Note:**

> Me: *sees Gyatso as the prompt*  
> Me: Ooo time to hurt my boy I see

Aang laughed as he chased down the hall. In the distance, he saw the tail of the lemur disappeared over the edge of the railing and down the cliff. Putting on a burst of speed, he followed the creature down, hearing Sokka whine in complaint behind them. Tears stung at his eyes as a grin split across his face.

The presence of the lemur lightened his heart, spreading inexplicable warmth throughout his body. If this little guy was here, certainly there were other animals- other airbenders. Maybe they were all just hiding?

The lemur landed on the ground, and Aang followed suit. He dove towards it, but cried out as it moved at the last moment. "Hey! Come back!" The lemur ducked into a worn-down building, the airbender behind him following through the curtains. He looked around for the small creature.

"Come on out, little lemur!" Aang gazed around for his new companion, "That hungry guy won't bother you any more!" He moved further into the building, pushing aside more curtains.

Immediately, his vision was filled with red. Red fabrics covering pale skeletons littered the ground. There were so many it was hard to tell where one ended and where the next began. Aang gasped, his heart dropping.

"Firebenders? They were here?" But how? How could the Fire Nation have scaled the mountains? How could they have reached this building without a bison? It just didn't seem possible. His gaze fell on the lone figure at the other end of the room. It sat upright against the far wall, tattered yellow robes hanging from it. A blanket of snow covered it from the waist down. Against his will, Aang felt his feet carry him towards the center of the room. His eyes fell to the pendant around the skeleton's neck.

Aang had seen it too many times to not recognize it. Grayed beads lead to a wood circle, three swirls engraved on it. It was the same jewelry that rested against his head when he sought comfort after stormy nights. The same symbol that filled his childhood and his memories. He couldn't breathe.

"Gyatso," He muttered brokenly. He fell to his knees, hands coming up to cover his face. Suddenly, nothing else existed. The tears came before he could stop them, falling in hot streams down his cheeks. His breath came short and labored, sobs breaking from his throat. _Katara was right_ , Aang thought to himself. More importantly, her grandmother was right.

_Extinct_. Just the thought of the word brought more sobs from him. If they had gotten Gyatso, they probably got the other monks too. And, if they had gotten the monks, what hope did the other airbenders have of surviving? What hope did the other lemurs or the bison have? What hope did the children- _oh Spirits, the children_ \- have? Friends and peers that it seemed that Aang saw just a couple days prior. Brothers that he grew up with, brothers that he played with, brothers that he taught. He sat there crying in front of the skeleton of his mentor- of his _father_ \- for what seemed like years. Vaguely, he felt a hand on his shoulder, but it was a voice that got his attention.

_"Aang…"_ It whispered, the sound carrying through the wind pounding in his ears. It creaked and rasped, and Aang look up at the skeleton in front of him.

Monk Gyatso no longer had eyes, but the holes where they should be stared directly at him, peering into his soul and choking him. The neck of the skeleton moved, and the wind picked up around him.

_"You left, Aang"_ The voice groaned, dust falling from the jaw as it moved. _"You did this."_

Aang covered his ears, the wind blowing harder and harder against them, but the voice broke through, this time not alone.

_"You did this, Aang."_ Hundreds of raspy voices sounded from what seemed like Aang's own head. The wind blew all around him, drying the tears that still fell from his eyes.

"No," he sobbed, clenching his eyes shut. The voices didn't stop.

_"You left… You did this… You left… You did this… You did this…"_ The hoarse whispers grew louder, and Aang sobbed harder.

"No!" He cried out, and the wind shattered.

* * *

Aang bolted up, sitting straight up from his place in the saddle. Heart racing, the sound of it pounding furiously, he wiped at his eyes. The tears still came, but so did a hand on his shoulder. He looked to the side, breath coming in gasps as his vision focused on a figure beside him.

Blurred sight gave way to concerned eyes, furrowed brows, and darker skin. Sokka, his brain helpfully supplied. Context came rushing back to him. He was in Appa's saddle, Katara and Sokka laying beside him. Memories flooded him. Momo, Gyatso, the Air Temple. Uncontrollable pain and anger, a strong voice cutting through the rush of air.

_"Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone,"_ He remembered it saying, _"But you still have a family. Sokka and I, we're your family now."_ Katara slept on beside them, but her words reverberated in his mind.

Sokka looked at him worriedly, taking in the tear tracks and red-rimmed eyes. Arms wordlessly wrapped around Aang, pulling him against a strong chest. At the sound of the steady heartbeat against his ear, the airbender broke again.

Silent sobs wracked his form as he clutched Sokka's shirt. He clung to his new brother, pain surging through him. He cried for his old family, all the pieces that made up everything he knew. All the pieces now shattered and gone, he let the tears come freely, wrapped in the comfort of a new family that wouldn't replace the old, but perhaps could ease the pain.


End file.
